The pink-spotted lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata De Geer (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is a generalist predator native to North America. In nature, it feeds on a wide range of soft-bodied insects and mites in managed and unmanaged landscapes. This quality makes C. maculata a desirable natural alternative to conventional pesticides and other chemical insect pest control means, particularly in a greenhouse setting. In its native range, C. maculata does not overwinter in houses or become a nuisance pest. C. maculata is amenable to rearing in artificial (i.e. non-natural) environments, which makes it a good prospect for commercial production. However, systems for rearing C. maculata on a large scale are virtually unknown.
One obstacle to commercial production of C. maculata and other similar arthropods is the lack of an efficient means to harvest the arthropod eggs. In nature, females prefer to oviposit on plants with epidermal hairs (trichomes). In laboratory conditions, individual females frequently oviposit on smooth surfaces such as containers of food or water or on the smooth surface of a petri dish. Removal of these eggs from the smooth surfaces is possible, but time consuming and often results in damaged eggs. Additionally, in a commercial-sized arthropod enclosure, multiple eggs are laid in open areas that are easily visible and accessible to other arthropods within the enclosure. Consequently the eggs are frequently cannibalized by the other arthropods. The eggs are also cannibalized by the arthropod larvae as they emerge from nearby hatched eggs.
The need exists for an arthropod egg containment apparatus and system that minimizes arthropod cannibalism and enables operators to quickly and efficiently harvest (i.e. remove) large volumes of arthropod eggs. The system and method described herein comprises a compact, modular device and associated system for safely, simply, inexpensively, and efficiently, containing and culturing terrestrial arthropod eggs. Batch, continuous, and semi-continuous culture methods are supported by the devices described herein.